Jr-K^.k^^f^^ 


LINCOLN 

AMERICA'S  GREAT  COMMONER 

A  SERMON 

PREACHED  AT  THE  LINCOLN  CENTENARY  SERVICE 

FIRST  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

SYRACUSE,  NEW  YORK 

FEBRUARY  SEVENTH,  NINETEEN  HUNDRED  AND  NINE 

BY 

REV.  FREDERICK  T.  KEENEY,  D.  D. 

PASTOR 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  CONGREGATION 


Syracuse.  N.  Y.: 
press  of  e.  m.  grover 

iQog 


This  book  has  been 
digitized  through 
the  generosity  of 

Robert  O.  Blissard 
Class  of  1957 


0 


University  of  Illinois  Library  at  Urbana-Champaign 


LINCOLN 

AMERICA'S  GREAT  COMMONER 


There  was  not  among  the  children  of  Israel  a  goodlier  person  than  he ; 
from  his  shoulders  and  upward  he  was  higher  than  any  of  the  people. 

I  Samuel,  9-2. 

Full  grown  men  are  scarce.  Pygmies  are  ever^'where.  Men 
who  stand  from  their  shoulders  up  higher  than  the  rest,  attract 
attention  in  any  crowd.  For  the  most  part  great  men,  like 
stars  of  the  first  magnitude,  stand  apart  in  a  fellowless  firma- 
ment. And  then  again  they  group  themselves  together  in  a 
constellation  which  sets  all  the  sky  aflame  with  splendor.  The 
year  1809  was  a  constellation  year  of  new  lights;  not  in  the 
heavens,  but  on  the  earth.  For  the  most  wondrous  work  of  an 
Almighty  hand  is  not  to  make  stars,  but  to  make  men ;  men  of 
noble  impulse;  men  who  shall  match  his  mountains  and  his 
plains;  men  who  shall  live  and  shine  when  sun  and  moon  and 
stars  have  faded  out.  It  was  that  year  which  gave  England 
and  America  their  poet  laureates,  Tennyson  and  Holmes  ;  which 
gave  to  all  the  earth  the  laureates  of  harmon\%  Chopin  and 
Mendelssohn ;  to  science  her  Darwin,  and  to  England  her  Great 
Commoner,  Gladstone.  As  though  this  were  not  enough,  it 
gave  to  the  New  World  an  infant  voice  whose  song  should  thrill 
more  hearts  than  any  other  since  that  which  the  angels  sang 
over  Bethlehem's  plains: 

My  country  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty, 
Of  thee  I  sing. 

For  Samuel  F.  Smith,  the  author  of  ".\nierica,"  was  born  in 
this  same  eventful  year.    But  tallest,  noblest,  best,  the  chiefest 

3 


among  giants,  was  he  of  the  Kentucky  home,  who  from  his 
shoulders  upward  towered  high  above  the  rest ;  God's  greatest 
gift  to  the  greatest  Republic  of  the  earth,  Abraham  Lincoln, 
America's  Great  Commoner. 

We  would  not  have  thought  to  find  such  treasure  in  such  a 
by-way  spot.  But  Lincoln  was  born,  not  in  a  forlorn  cabin  in 
the  wilderness,  but  in  the  richly  furnished  heartof  Nancy  Hanks, 
his  mother.  That  mother,  rich  in  heart,  though  poor  in  all 
things  else,  looked  into  the  face  of  her  newborn  child,  and  gave 
him  his  name  and  the  queenly  qualities  of  her  noble  spirit  as  her 
only  legacy.  She  taught  him  to  pray  and  love  the  Bible,  and 
then  went  home  to  Qod  in  the  morning  of  her  young  woman- 
hood, having  done  more  for  the  race  and  for  her  country  than 
any  other  mother  since  the  glad  day  when  bells  and  bonfires 
announced  the  birth  of  the  Republic.  It  was  years  before  the 
world  knew  of  that  Kentucky  home;  of  the  coming  of  the  lad  or 
the  going  of  the  mother;  but  God  knew.  Down  the  broadening 
highway  of  the  future  he  saw  the  stress  and  strain  of  a  half 
century  to  come ;  he  heard  the  cry  of  the  oppressed,  as  three 
thousand  j^cars  before  he  had  heard  the  cry  of  Israel's  sons  and 
the  lash  of  the  oppressor.  As  then  he  watched  over  Moses,  a 
slave  child  in  the  rushes,  who  should  lead  a  race  from  the  land 
of  bondage  to  the  Land  of  Promise;  so  in  our  day  he  watched 
over  the  Moses  of  our  Israel,  that  in  the  fulness  of  time  he 
might  have  a  leader  with  faith  to  follow  the  pillar  of  cloud  by  day 
and  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night;  until  at  last,  with  the  Promised 
Land  in  sight,  God  should  take  him  up  from  the  mountain  top 
of  triumph  to  his  coronation. 

God,  doubtless,  might  make  full  grown  men  in  a  minute;  but  he 
never  does.  Moses  did  not  attain  full  stature  until  he  was  four 
score.  A  half  century  is  none  too  long  to  send  a  lad  to  school, 
if  you  have  great  tasks  for  him  to  do  at  the  end  of  the  fifty 
3'ears.  God,  therefore,  sent  this  unknown  Kentucky  lad  to  school. 
There  was  no  other  master,  so  he  became  his  teacher.  There 
was  no  other  schoolhouse,  so  he  took  him  into  his  schoolhouse 
— his  great  out-of-doors.  There  was  no  other  text  book,  so  he 
gave  him  his  text  book  of  the  ages,  the  Bible;  with  Aesop's 
4 


Fables,  Fox's  Martvrs  and  Bun  van's  Pilgrim's  Progress,  as 
books  of  reference,  for  variety.  lie  did  not  hurry  him;  there 
was  time  enough.  To  modern  school  boards  the  methods  and 
the  books  might  have  seemed  quite  out  of  date.  But  we  will 
not  condemn  them  until  we  examine  our  scholar.  That  same 
old  schoolhouse  of  God's  out-of-doors  has  many  an  alumnus 
for  whom  the  world  needs  to  make  no  apologv. 

God  needed  a  man  with  four  supreme  gifts,  heart  and  honor, 
good  sense  and  faith.  It  is  so  rare  to  find  these  four  supreme 
gifts  combined  in  any  one  man  that  God  could  well  afibrd  to 
keep  this  country  lad  in  school  for  a  half  centur}^  if  need  be, 
before  giving  him  his  final  test;  if,  as  a  result,  he  might  attain 
first  honor  in  each  one. 

Scholars  are  good.  The  United  States  and  the  present  cen- 
tury have  the  most  improved  methods  of  producing  them.  We 
spend  millions  of  dollars  a  year  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  latest 
improvements  to  the  machinery.  We  employ  hundreds  of  thous- 
ands of  skilled  mechanics  to  operate  the  machines.  We  start 
the  raw  material  in  at  five  \'ears  of  age;  the  machine  begins  its 
work  and  never  stops.  At  twenty  the  raw  material  has  been 
worked  up  into  scholars,  ready  for  delivery  to  the  markets 
of  the  world;  mathematicians,  philosophers,  scientists;  what- 
ever you  may  happen  to  want.  You  may  have  first  qualit\^  or 
second,  according  to  what  you  can  pay.  Splendid  machine; 
splendid  output;  skilled  operatives.  But  scholarship  alone  can- 
not produce  the  qualities  which  God  most  needed  for  his  Great 
Commoner.  For  heart  and  honor,  good  sense  and  faith  count 
for  more  than  what  we  call  scholarship. 

God's  out-of-doors  is  a  good  place  to  grow  hearts.  Open 
fields  are  far  better  for  heart  expansion  than  crowded  streets. 
The  open  is  a  good  place,  too,  to  grow  good  sense.  For  there 
one  has  time  to  think,  a  privilege  often  denied  in  other  school 
rooms.  The  Bible  is  a  great  text  book,  too.  It  was  about  the 
only  one  young  Lincoln  had.  Man}'  school  boards  rule  it  out. 
But  God  thought  it  would  do  for  Lincoln.  You  know  the  storv 
of  those  fifty  years  at  school.  I  have  nothing  new  to  tell.  Did 
the  lad  "  make  good  ?  "     Was  it  worth  while  for  (lod  to  take  a 


half  century  to  train  a  six  feet  four  awkward  country  lad,  the 
rail  splitter  of  the  Sangamon  bottom  ? 

Suppose  we  examine  him  on  the  four  subjects  which  God  was 
most  anxious  for  him  to  know.  We  will  pass  by  chemistry  and 
trigonometry  and  biology ;  for  I  am  afraid  that  Lincoln  might 
not  pass  in  these;  and  I  am  very  sure  that  many  other  students 
would  have  higher  standing.  The  truth  is,  that  our  Great 
Commoner  had  been  so  busy  at  his  other  tasks  that  he  had 
not  had  much  chance  to  excel  in  subjects  outside  of  his  regular 
course. 

We  will  first  examine  Lincoln's  heart.  For  it  is  here  that  so- 
called  great  men  sometimes  fail.  The  man  who  is  too  great  to 
shed  tears  is  not  great  at  all.  When  as  a  young  man  he  went 
down  the  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans  and  saw  the  slave  pen  and 
auction  block  for  the  first  time,  it  was  his  tenderness  of  heart 
which  caused  him  to  say,  "  If  ever  I  get  a  chance  to  hit  that 
thing,  I  will  hit  it  hard,  by  the  Eternal  God."  Bishop  Simpson 
loved  Lincoln,  and  often  felt  his  heart-throb.  When  about  to 
leave  one  Thursday  evening  the  President  said,  "  Stay  with  me. 
Bishop."  "  But  I  must  not  stay  longer,"  said  Bishop  Simpson, 
"you  need  sleep."  "  To-morrow,"  said  Lincoln,  "is  the  day  of 
execution  in  the  army ;  when  the  boys  who  have  fallen  asleep 
at  their  posts  are  shot.  The  oflScers  tell  me  that  I  pardon  so 
many  that  it  tends  to  destroy  the  discipline  of  the  army,  and 
that  I  must  be  more  firm ;  but  I  never  sleep  on  Thursday  night. 
Stay  with  me.  Bishop."  Did  Lincoln  have  a  heart?  Ask  the 
soldiers  at  the  front.  Then,  for  answer,  listen  to  the  martial 
song  that  swells  up  from  the  hearts  beating  loyally  and 
lovingly  under  the  blue  uniforms  : 

"We  are  coming,  Father  Abraham, 
Three  hundred  thousand  strong. ' ' 

Men  do  not  coin  such  titles  except  for  those  thc}^  love.  Every 
soldier  boy  who  sung  the  song  knew  that  there  was  a  father's 
heart  at  the  White  House  that  was  answering  back  love  for 
love.  Did  Lincoln  have  a  heart  ?  The  Irish  porter  at  the  White 
House  knew.  When  a  soldier's  wife  came  to  plead  for  the  par- 
6 


don  of  her  husband  for  some  capital  offense  he  had  committed  ; 
she  was  about  to  leave  her  baby  in  the  hall  when  she  went  in 
to  see  the  President.  But  the  Irish  porter  said,  "  Be  sure  and 
take  the  baby  up  with  ye."  When,  a  little  later,  the  mother 
came  down  stairs,  smiling  and  happ}',  the  pardon  granted, 
Patrick  said,  "Ah,  Ma'am,  it  was  the  baby  that  did  it."  Since 
Jesus  walked  this  earth  there  has  never  been  a  man  with  ten- 
derer heart  than  our  Great  Commoner.  He  loved  the  South ; 
although  the  South,  blinded  by  passion,  saw  it  not.  They 
called  him  "devil;  "  but  he  called  them  the  "Sons  of  the  Repub- 
lic," and  plead  with  them  to  "come  back  home  and  behave 
themselves."  He  wanted  no  war;  he  wished  no  man.  North  or 
South,  to  shed  his  blood.  He  proposed  the  purchase  of  the 
slaves  to  Alexander  Stephens  at  Fortress  Monroe.  But  Stephens 
would  consider  nothing  but  the  recognition  of  the  Confederacy. 
"In  that  case,  Stephens,"  said  Lincoln,  "I  am  guiltless  of  every 
drop  of  blood  that  may  be  shed  from  this  time  onward."  The 
next  da}^  he  presented  the  matter  to  the  Cabinet,  but  only  Sew- 
ard was  with  him.  The  amount,  $400,000,000.00,  which  we 
could  not  afford,  to  buy  the  slaves,  we  paid  over  and  over  and 
over  again,  to  free  them;  and  besides,  a  wealth  of  life  blood, 
North  and  South,  which  was  worth  more  to  the  Republic  than 
all  its  gold.  Lincoln  loved  the  South  as  he  loved  the  North,  and 
when  he  died  one  of  the  best  friends  the  South  ever  had  went 
up  to  God.  A  daughter  of  Jefferson  Davis  is  now  the  wife  of  a 
banker  in  Colorado  Springs.  Colorado.  She  has  recently  told 
how  as  a  little  girl,  on  the  morning  after  Lincoln  was  shot,  she 
heard  the  guards  outside  rejoicing  over  the  fact.  She  ran  in  to 
tell  herfather  of  Lincoln'sdeath,  thinking  that  he  would  be  glad 
to  hear  the  startling  news.  His  face  grew  sad  in  a  moment,  as 
he  took  her  upon  his  knee,  he  said,  "  My  daughter,  you  do  not  un- 
derstand. This  is  the  hardest  blow  which  could  have  befallen  the 
South.  Mr.  Lincoln  wasthebest  friend  the  South  ever  had  in  all 
the  North."  From  childhood  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  calling  the 
President  of  the  Confederacy  "Jeff"  Davis.  But  when,  through 
these  words  to  his  daughter,  I  first  saw  into  his  heart,  I  regis- 
tered a  vow  that   hereafter  I  would  always  speak  of  hini  as 


"  Mr."  Davis,  or  as  "Jefferson  "  Davis.     For  a  man  with  such  a 
spirit  is  worthy  to  be  honored  by  his  proper  name. 

The  closing  paragraph  of  Lincohi's  second  Inaugural  might 
have  been  written  by  St.  John  ;  beginning  as  you  recall.  "  With 
malice  toward  none,  and  with  charity  for  all."  Again  and 
again  he  declared,  "I  have  not  suffered  for  the  South;  I  have 
suffered  with  the  South."  Hear  him  as  he  says,  "I  have  never 
knowingly  planted  a  thorn  in  any  human  heart.  But  I  have 
always  endeavored  to  pluck  a  thorn  and  plant  a  rose,  wher- 
ever a  rose  w^ould  grow."  God  and  the  nation  know  how  well  he 
did  his  work.  I  do  not  wonder  that  President  Roosevelt  calls 
Lincoln  "the  Great  Heart  of  American  public  life."  Did  Lincoln 
pass  in  great-hearted ness?  Out  of  the  past  I  hear  the  voice  of 
Him  who  spake  as  never  man  spake,  saying,  "Love  your  ene- 
mies; bless  them  that  curse  you  ;  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you, 
and  pray  for  them  that  despitefuUy  use  3'ou."  From  the  day 
that  Jesus  spoke  upon  the  Mount,  until  the  day  on  which  Lin- 
coln went  up  to  his  coronation,  there  never  lived  a  man  who 
came  nearer  to  the  standard  which  Christ  himself  set  up  than 
did  our  Great  Commoner. 

Examine  Lincoln  next  as  to  his  honesty.  Many  a  man, 
great  in  other  ways,  has  failed  to  pass  in  this  subject.  Many 
a  man,  too,  w^io  once  was  honest,  finds  that  his  fingers  take 
on  cunning  and  skill  in  getting  into  other  people's  pockets 
when  he  gets  into  public  life.  He  finds  also  that  as  he  goes  up 
in  the  social  and  political  scale,  his  standards  of  honesty  go 
down.  Lincoln  began  honest.  He  would  walk  a  half  dozen  miles 
after  a  hard  day's  work  to  correct  an  error  of  twenty-five  cents 
in  making  change  with  a  poor  woman.  He  was  honest  with 
himself  and  with  his  conscience  as  well  as  with  other  people's 
purses.  In  the  famous  Lincoln-Douglas  campaign  in  '58,  the 
committee  told  Lincoln  that  it  would  not  do  to  say,  as  he  pro- 
posed, that  "  This  country  cannot  longerexist  half  slave  and  half 
free;  "  that  to  advocate  such  a  view  would  be  to  lose  the  elec- 
tion. Those  who  were  there  said  that  Lincoln  seemed  to  grow 
several  inches  taller  in  a  minute,  as  he  looked  the  politicians 
squarelyinthe  eyes  and  said,  "Gentlemen,  it  is  not  necessary  for 


me  to  win  the  coming  election ;  but  it  is  necessary  for  me  to 
stand  b}'  my  convictions."  And,  as  the  practical  politicians 
prophesied,  Douglas  won  the  election.  Two  years  later,  how- 
ever, came  the  ever  memorable  convention  of  ISGO  in  Chicago; 
in  which  more  interest  centered  than  in  any  other  nominating- 
convention  since  the  birth  of  the  Republic.  Great  states,  repre- 
sented by  strong  delegations,  were  present  to  present  the  names 
of  their  favorite  sons  for  the  high  office  of  President  of  the 
United  States.  Most  conspicuous  of  all  was  the  great  delega- 
tion from  the  great  Empire  State,  which  went  to  Chicago,  con- 
fident that  the  honored  name  of  New  York's  great  son,  William 
H.  Seward,  would  receive  the  support  of  the  convention  for  the 
Presidenc}'.  Repeated  roll  calls,  however,  showed  the  increas- 
ing strength  of  a  comparatively^  unknown  Westerner,  Lincoln, 
by  name.  At  last,  after  a  night  of  conference  and  council,  on 
the  third  roll  call,  in  the  midst  of  a  whirlwind  of  excitement. 
New  York  State  was  reached.  Her  great  Governor,  chairman 
of  the  delegation,  rose  and  waited  for  recognition.  In  the  still- 
ness of  expectancy  which  followed  he  said,  "New  York  came 
to  this  convention  to  place  in  nommation  a  great  statesman, 
William  H.  Seward;  she  now  withdraws  the  nameof  her  candi- 
date, and  changes  her  vote  to  Abraham  Lincoln."  Everyone 
knew  in  an  instant,  as  if  by  electric  shock,  that  this  meant 
the  nomination  of  Lincoln.  Pandemonium  was  let  loose.  Some- 
one leaped  into  a  chair,  and  waving  a  newspaper  to  attract 
attention,  shouted  "Threecheers  for  honest  old  Abe."  The  vot- 
ing ceased  for  a  season  ;  but  the  shouting  went  on  and  on  and 
on,  until  the  wigwam  shook  as  though  in  the  grip  of  a  cvclone. 
The  sound  of  voices  was  like  that  of  heaven's  jirtillerv. 
Lincoln  was  the  choice  of  the  people  because  they  believed  him 
to  be  honest;  and  because  only  an  honest  man  could  be  trusted 
at  such  an  hour.  Lean,  gaunt,  untutored,  uncultured,— yes;  he 
was  guilty  of  it  all.  But  in  the  school  where  God  is  master, 
which  Lincoln  had  attended  for  some  time,  he  had  learned  hon- 
esty. Having  passed  100  ])er  cent,  in  that,  the  people  forgave 
him  the  rest.  For  the  Republic  in  1860  needed  honestv  in  its 
Chief  Executive  more  th^m  it  needed  culture  and  good  looks. 

9 


Shall  we  proceed  with  the  examination?  We  have  found 
Lincoln  high  above  the  passing  mark  in  great-heartedness  and 
in  honestv.  How  about  his  good  sense, — common  sense.  That 
something  which  a  college  cannot  produce;  that  which  cannot 
be  made  to  order,  or  bought  at  any  price.  That  indispensable 
ingredient  which  needs  to  be  mixed  with  other  excellencies  in 
order  to  give  them  supreme  value.  This  was  Lincoln's  strongest 
point.  If  he  is  100  per  cent,  in  other  subjects  he  is  100  per  cent, 
plus,  in  this.  Fortunate  for  him  that  hchad  been  tutored  in  the 
great  schoolhouse  of  God's  out-of-doors ;  far  away  from  the 
hurry  and  press  of  cit}'  life.  For  somehow  common  sense,  of 
which  there  is  never  any  too  much,  is  found  more  often  along 
the  country  highway  than  in  the  city  street.  You  find  it  clad 
more  often  in  homespun  than  in  broadcloth.  It  was  Lincoln's 
great  good  sense  which  stood  him  in  hand  on  thousands  of 
occasions  better  than  any  other  asset  which  he  had,  except  his 
faith. 

There  were  a  lot  of  people  around  Washington  who  knew 
more  than  did  Lincoln  about  running  the  government ;  so  they 
thought;  so  a  great  many  of  their  friends  thought.  He  had 
onlv  had  one  term  in  Congress.  His  nomination  and  election 
to  the  presidency  was  regarded  by  man}'  as  an  accident.  Men 
who  made  a  business  of  politics  and  government  had  never 
counted  Lincoln  as  in  their  class.  In  the  interests  of  peace  and 
with  a  desire  to  stimulate  loyalty  and  confidence,  he  had  given 
the  men  who  were  most  prominent  at  Chicago  as  rival  candi- 
dates for  the  Presidenc}'  a  place  in  his  Cabinet.  A  courtesy 
which  all  did  not  appreciate.  Seward,  Chase,  Fessenden,  Trum- 
bull, Simon  Cameron,  Zachariah  Chandler;  each  considered 
himself  superior  to  his  chief.  Little  by  little  Lincoln's  great 
good  sense,  and  their  ability  to  recognize  it,  lifted  him  high 
above  the  Cabinet,  great  men  that  they  were;  until  the  House, 
the  Senate,  the  Republic  and  the  world  looked  on  in  wonder  at 
the  greatness  of  this  man  who  for  a  half  centurx'  had  been 
thinking,  thinking,  thinking ;  nntil  the  fruitage  was  such  a  har- 
vest of  good  sense  as  the  world  had  not  seen  before. 

W^hat  of  Lincoln's  faith?    Some  have  said  that  he  did  not  pass. 

10 


But  such  do  not  know.  Recall  a  single  sentence  of  his  farewell 
words  to  his  Springfield  neighbors  as  he  was  leaving  for  Wash- 
ington: "  I  now  leave,  not  knowing  when,  or  whether  ever,  I  may 
return,  with  a  task  before  me  greater  than  that  which  rested 
on  Washington.  Without  the  assistance  of  that  divine  Being 
who  ever  attended  him  I  cannot  succeed.  W'ith  that  assistance 
I  cannot  fail."  A  motto  still  hangs  on  the  wall  in  the  old  Spring- 
field home,  jvist  as  it  hung  forty-nine  years  ago  when  the  com- 
mittee came  to  notify  Lincoln  of  his  nomination.  It  reads: 
"Those  who  trust  God  need  never  be  discouraged."  After  the 
formal  notification,  Lincoln,  pointing  to  the  motto,  said,  "We 
trust  in  God,  and  we  will  not  be  discouraged."  On  the  table 
nearby  la3's  Lincoln's  Bible,  as  it  lay  that  day.  The  leaves  are 
worn  with  constant  use.  Pick  it  up  and  it  will  open  to  the 
Psalms;  for  it  was  to  the  Psalms  that  Lincoln  turned  most 
frequenth'.  The  bits  of  ribbon  and  strips  of  paper  which  he 
used  as  book-marks  still  remain  where  he  left  them  ;  and  man}' 
verses  marked  with  pencil,  indicate  the  portions  which  were  to 
him  the  greatest  comfort  and  inspiration.  Was  our  Great  Com- 
moner a  man  of  faith?  For  answer,  hear  him  in  the  campaign 
of  1860,  when,  with  the  voice  and  vision  of  one  of  God's  old- 
time  prophets,  he  declares  "I  know  there  is  a  God,  and  that  He 
hates  injustice  and  slavery.  I  see  the  storm  coming  and  know 
His  hand  is  in  it.  If  He  has  a  place  and  work  for  me,  and  I 
think  He  has,  I  believe  I  am  ready.  I  am  nothing,  but  truth  is 
everything.  I  know  that  I  am  right,  because  I  know  that 
liberty  is  right,  for  Christ  teaches  it,  and  Christ  is  God." 

Lincoln  believed  in  a  God  who  heard  jjrayer.  Often  when 
Bishop  Simpson  called  upon  the  President  he  would  request  him 
to  offer  prayer  before  leaving.  One  day  he  said  :  "  I  have  often 
been  driven  to  myknees  when,  under  the  pressure  of  overwhelm- 
ing difficult}^  I  felt  that  my  own  wisdom  and  that  of  others 
around  me  had  utterly  failed,  and  I  had  nowhere  else  to  go." 
It  was  to  General  Rusling  that  the  President  told  of  the  prayer 
he  offered  before  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  in  which  he  promised 
God  that  if  he  would  give  victory  to  the  Union  army  he  would 
free  the  slaves. 

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Did  he  have  faith?  Aye;  it  was  a  faith  which  reached  uj3 
through  the  blackness  of  the  battle  smoke  until  it  touched  the 
hand  of  the  great  Master  who  had  been  his  teacher  for  fifty  and 
five  vears;  and  touching  it,  he  held  it  fast.  It  mattered  not 
that  the  earth  trembled  under  the  tread  of  armies.  He  knew 
the  pressure  of  that  hand  would  fail  him  not;  and  knowing,  he 
marched  unseen  beside  the  rank  and  file  of  the  boys  in  blue 
through  the  bloody  death  damp  of  every  battlefield  all  the  wa}' 
from  Sumter  to  Appomattox;  ever  trusting  the  great  Com- 
mander-in-Chief to  guide  both  him  and  them. 

Lincoln's  long  school  term  of  fift}'  and  six  years  is  at  last 
finished.  The  examinations  are  over.  The  scholars  have  all 
gone  home.  Not  one  of  the  generation  born  in  1809  is  left. 
Did  Lincoln  pass?  Let  the  world  make  answer;  let  the  coming 
centuries  speak.  With  one  voice  they  tell  me  that  in  gentleness 
of  heart,  in  rugged  honesty,  in  good  sense  and  in  sterling  faith 
he  was  never  found  wanting.  I  am  glad  to  hear  the  Master  say 
"  Well  done"  to  my  six  feet  four,  Kentucky  lad  ;  the  awkward 
homely  youth  who  would  have  had  little  chance  had  not  God 
offered  him  free  tuition  in  his  school.  As  I  gaze  upon  his  fea- 
tures, the  ugliness  which  I  first  saw  gives  way  to  lines  of  beauty 
as  the  soul  shines  through. 

It  is  true  that  the  scholars  of  a  century  ago  have  all  gone ; 
but  the  schoolhouse  of  God's  out-of-doors  still  remains;  the 
same  Master  stands  at  the  open  door;  the  same  wide  open  Text 
Book  welcomes  the  seeker  after  truth.  The  Master  still  offers 
free  tuition  and  immortal  prizes  to  every  son  and  daughter  of 
the  Republic   who,  like  Lincoln,    will  be  faithful  unto   death. 

It  is  fitting  that  we  remember  February  12th;  let  no  child 
forget  the  birthday  of  America's  Great  Commoner.  It  is  fitting, 
too,  that  we  forget  April  15th,  the  day  of  shadows.  Who 
cares  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  the  plain  three-story  brick  house 
at  516  Tenth  St.,  N.  W.,  Washington,  where  Lincoln  breathed 
his  last.  But  the  Nation  will  this  week  lay  the  corner-stone  of 
a  shrine  which  will  long  endure  upon  the  spot  where  Lincoln 
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was  born.  'Tis  life  not  death  vvliich  v.iake«.  us  tl^T<  of  Lincoln. 
Lincoln  has  lived  one  hundred  years,  come  Friday  next.  The 
four  qualities  of  his  life  which  we  have  viewed  this  morning  are 
the  corner-stones  of  immortality  for  any  soul.  We  crown  to- 
day the  first  century  of  Lincoln's  life;  to  be  followed  by  other 
swift  flving  centuries  as  long  as  time  shall  last.  The  laurel 
wreath  upon  his  triumphant  brow  will  never  fade.  Stanton 
knew  not  how  well  he  spake  that  night  by  Lincoln's  bedside; 
when,  as  the  weary  heart  stopped  beating,  he  laid  the  pulseless 
hand  of  the  Great  Commoner  across  his  quiet  breast  and  said, 
"He  is  with  the  ages."  Lincoln  is  not  dead.  Centuries  and 
calendars  have  little  to  do  with  such  a  life. 

Has  any  creature  thought  of  Lincoln  hid 

In  any  vault,  'neath  any  coffin  lid, 

In  all  the  years  since  that  wild  spring  of  pain  ? 

'Tis  false,  he  never  in  the  grave  hath  lain. 

You  could  not  bury  him  although  you  slid 

Upon  his  clay  the  Cheops  pyramid 

Or  heaped  it  with  the  Rocky  Mountain  chain. 

They  slew  themselves;  they  but  set  Lincoln  free. 

In  all  the  earth  his  great  heart  beats  as  sti'ong; 

Shall  beat  while  pulses  throb  to  chivalry 

And  burn  with  hate  of  tyranny  and  wrong. 

Whoever  will  may  find  him,  anywhere 

Save  in  the  tomb.     Not  there — he  is  not  there. 

Our  Great  Commoner  is  with  the  ages  and  with  (rod. 


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